DXF File creation from Inventor

[shawn.budden]

I use an iLogic code to create DXF files from Inventor models. This works very well without issue.

The issue is when using the DXF file to create bend lines on large pieces of steel (60' in length). Drawing multiple bend lines 60' feet long creates a very long process for the machining process that scribes the lines.

Does anyone know if there is a way to create the bend lines in three separate short segments so that the process of marking the sheet metal does not take so long? (See images for present and desired result.)

Thanks, Shawn

[SharkDesign]

They are not multiple lines, they are just a single dotted line. If you open the dxf in AutoCAD you can just change the line style. 

You can change the line style in the styles and standards editor, but that would look the same on your drawings which I guess you don't want. 

You could also try the autocad mapping options when exporting to dxf, if that works you might be able to get that working through iLogic, but I'm not sure if there is API for that. 

[manikandanmmkm]

Change the line type scale in Autocad

[YannickEnrico]

My experience from the sheet metal industry is that you need to treat the files afterwards.
You can select a different line type, and maybe instruct the software you're using for CNC to treat it differently, but in Trumph TruTops that wasn't a possibility at least. 

Back then I also enquired our supplier of CAD and Addins (NTI in Denmark) if they could add such enhancements to their addin, and they said it was a technical impossibility.

[shawn.budden]

Thank you all for your replies and input.  Since any continuous line would pose a workflow problem, I addressed it in another manner.  Before the creation of the DXF file,  I compiled a code to take the bend and tangent lines to an invisible layer. The next step was to code a process to sketch three lines on each flat of the shaft. The code creates these lines at the beginning, center, and end of the shaft. Then while still in the 3D model it uses the Mark Feature to scribe each line that was in each sketch. Once the model is exported to DXF, it puts those scribed lines in the Mark Surface layer. The last step was to match the colors to the machining processes.

[IgorMir]

Another version of getting it done is to open the DXF file in AutoCAD and Trim those lines in there. For a few parts it is not a big deal. But if you do hundreds of parts similar to that one it Some laser cutting machines can be programmed to burn specific lines on starts and ends only. For a certain length, specified in the G-code. That's what I have come across on the internet:

"Yes, laser cutting machines can be programmed to create score lines, often referred to as "bending lines," on the start and end points of a cut path. This technique is used to facilitate bending or folding of materials after laser cutting. By slightly burning or etching the material at specific locations, the laser weakens the material along these lines, making it easier to bend or fold along those pre-determined points."

Cheers,

Igor.